Texas Government Practice Questions
Course Introduction
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the structure, functions, and processes of Texas government and politics. Students will explore the Texas Constitution, the roles of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, and the unique features that distinguish Texas from other states. Key topics include federalism, political parties, elections, public policy, and the impact of historical and cultural factors on the state's political landscape. Through analysis and discussion, students will gain a deeper understanding of the ways government and politics shape the lives of Texans and the state's role within the broader framework of the United States.
Recommended Textbook Government and Politics in the Lone Star State 8th Edition by L. Tucker Gibson
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13 Chapters
1040 Verified Questions
1040 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: The social and economic milieu of texas politics
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8055
Sample Questions
Q1) In addition to determining a person's employment and income potential, education also affects participation in
A) politics.
B) family life.
C) religious activities.
D) cultural events.
E) charitable organizations.
Answer: A
Q2) On all measures of income, Hispanics and African Americans fall below the Anglo population.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Native Americans in Texas want to open casinos on their reservations as a way to create revenue, jobs, and economic development for their people.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: The texas constitution
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79 Verified Questions
79 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What best describes the conflict between Mexico and the newly formed Republic of Texas in 1836?
A) The forces of the Republic of Texas only secured victory through American assistance.
B) It was a short conflict with relatively light casualties.
C) In a brief conflict, the Republic of Texas lost not a single battle to Mexico.
D) It was a long drawn out conflict lasting 2 years and inflicting thousands of casualties.
E) It took place over several years with intermittent fighting with light casualties.
Answer: B
Q2) Which of the seven Texas constitutions was used for the shortest period of time?
A) the Constitution of 1836
B) the Constitution of 1845
C) the Constitution of 1861
D) the Constitution of 1866
E) the Constitution of 1869
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: Intergovernmental relationships
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8057
Sample Questions
Q1) During the Reagan administration,
A) little was done to reduce federal power and return authority to the states despite that being a goal.
B) federal welfare programs were transferred to the states to administer.
C) block grants were stopped in favor of categorical-in-aid grants.
D) spending authority gradually returned to states, though the size of the federal government increased.
E) many policies concerning the states enacted by President Carter were overturned.
Answer: A
Q2) Texans, unlike most American citizens, are subject to the authority of an array of governments.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) If a person commits a crime in Texas, they cannot escape trial by fleeing Texas.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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5
Chapter 4: Interest groups and political power in texas
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8058
Sample Questions
Q1) During the 1970s, political power was spread out to minorities, Republicans, and liberal Democrats more evenly through the utilization of ________, which eroded the strength of conservative Democrats.
A) multimember districts
B) at-large elections
C) single-member districts
D) proportional representation
E) bi-member districts
Q2) Swayed in part by their beliefs in separation of church and state, many people think religious organizations have little or no justifiable role in the political process.
A)True
B)False
Q3) ________ is dedicated to promoting and protecting the interests of African Americans.
A) LUCLAC
B) NOW
C) The NAACP
D) The Black Panthers
E) TEXPAC
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Page 6
Chapter 5: The mass media in texas politics
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8059
Sample Questions
Q1) Individual news bureaus range in size from several staffers for the Associated Press and the larger newspapers to one-person operations for smaller organizations.
A)True
B)False
Q2) By using the media, it is possible to legally buy an election in Texas.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Television has been criticized for putting ________, a problem that candidates who are more interested in winning rather than reforming the system are willingly perpetuating.
A) state over nation
B) coverage over profits
C) individual over party
D) speech over sound bite
E) style over substance
Q4) The media sets the agenda for public policy by the stories it chooses to cover.
A)True
B)False
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Page 7
Chapter 6: The party system in
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8060
Sample Questions
Q1) Even though party loyalty is waning, scholars tend to agree that political parties still perform essential functions that other institutions cannot.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Characterize Republican voters in Texas and contrast them to Democratic voters.How are minorities realigning politically?
Q3) In order to carry out their functions, political parties have developed
A) permanent and temporary organizations.
B) local and state hierarchical arrangements.
C) local, state, and national hierarchical arrangements.
D) county executive committees.
E) national executive committees.
Q4) General elections are won by a simple plurality, which allowed Rick Perry to win the governor's election with only 39 percent of the vote.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Why have third parties achieved little success in Texas politics? Are there legal constraints that have prevented the rise of third parties?
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Chapter 7: Elections, campaigns, and political behavior
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8061
Sample Questions
Q1) The 1965 Voting Rights Act which was extended to Texas in 1975 allows
A) minorities to refuse to show identification when voting in Texas.
B) women to run for public office in all state and local elections in Texas.
C) minority coalitions to dispute state and local election systems in court.
D) interest groups to dispute state and local elections systems in court.
E) minorities to vote in all state and local elections in Texas.
Q2) ________ helped lead Texas to adopting the primary in 1903.Prior to this, political parties nominated candidates in party conventions.
A) The Texas state Republican Party
B) Governor Davis
C) President William McKinley
D) A Progressive reform movement
E) The Populist Party
Q3) ________ are partisan and held in November of even-numbered years.
A) City council elections
B) County government elections
C) School board elections
D) Special district elections
E) Single-purpose district elections
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Page 9
Chapter 8: The texas legislature
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8062
Sample Questions
Q1) Lieutenant governors get most of their power from rules set by the senators, not from the Texas Constitution.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A bill can be considered by the full chamber after it wins committee approval on the
A) consent of the other chamber.
B) second reading.
C) consent of the standing committee.
D) third reading.
E) consent of the presiding officer.
Q3) In 2003, Democrats still controlled both houses of the Texas legislature.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What was the primary reason for legislative partisanship in Texas in 2003?
A) funding for a new transportation network
B) academic placement tests in public schools
C) congressional redistricting fights
D) cuts in health care for low-income individuals
E) advancing of the conservative GOP agenda
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Chapter 9: The texas executive
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8063
Sample Questions
Q1) The comptroller's powerful role in budgetary affairs was enhanced by auditing and oversight authority in 1990 and 1991, leading to the identification of billions of dollars in potential savings.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Why did Governor Bush face much opposition over his plan to lower property taxes?
A) Business lobbyists protested against a new business tax while the Senate was adamant to support an increased sales tax.
B) The Democratic-controlled Senate refused to approve a large increase in state sales taxes to offset it.
C) The financial crisis that Texas faced in 1997 made the idea of lowering property taxes absurd, and as a result, both chambers refused to agree to Bush's plan.
D) The House only supported Bush's plan once he backed down from the idea of lowering school taxes.
E) Education unions lobbied heavily at the proposed cuts to school funding that were necessary to offset the decrease in property taxes.
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Chapter 10: The bureaucracy and policy implementation
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81 Verified Questions
81 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8064
Sample Questions
Q1) Why do so many people express a great deal of ambivalence, if not hostility, toward bureaucracies and those who are employed by government?
Q2) Sometimes bureaucrats are blamed for problems that are better placed on the shoulders of
A) elected policymakers.
B) judicial appointments.
C) registered voters.
D) the president.
E) the television media.
Q3) Legislative policies are rarely misdirected, so programs usually produce the intended results.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The ________ is exempt from sunset review.
A) Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
B) Public Utility Commission
C) General Land Office
D) Texas Residential Construction Commission
E) Department of Insurance
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Chapter 11: The judicial system in texas
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8065
Sample Questions
Q1) At the highest appellate level, Texas has a bifurcated court system that sends criminal and civil cases to the same court.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Describe the different levels o0f courts in the Texas judicial system.Are there too many courts with similar functions?
Q3) The Texas ________ must try to balance the constitutional rights of convicts against the public welfare.
A) Court of Appeals
B) Court of Criminal Appeals
C) Supreme Court
D) district courts
E) state courts
Q4) What is meant by judicial activism, and why do many people object to this role of the court in policymaking? What changes have been proposed to limit judicial activism by changing elections?
Q5) Ruby Sondock of Houston was the first woman to serve on the Texas Supreme Court.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Local government in texas: cities, towns, counties, and special districts
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8066
Sample Questions
Q1) ____________ is one of the recommendations being made to modernize county governments in Texas.
A) Allowing general law rule
B) Granting authority to ignore city ordinances
C) Increasing the powers of the sheriffs office
D) Eliminating the civil service system
E) Creating an office of county administrator
Q2) ___________ would be considered an aspect of a strong mayor.
A) Exercising veto authority over the budget
B) Independently elected city administrators
C) The power to remove city officials with approval of the city council
D) Limited budgetary authority
E) Sharing power with the city council over city administration
Q3) A special district is governed by a board, either appointed by other governmental units or elected in partisan elections.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The fundamental document that governs a home rule city is its charter.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Contemporary public policy issues in texas
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8067
Sample Questions
Q1) The most controversial provisions in the 1984 education reform law were
A) a literacy test for teachers and the "no pass, no play" rule.
B) a requirement that students pass a basic skills test before graduating.
C) limited class sizes and free pre-kindergarten classes for disadvantaged four year olds.
D) a new three-track system that placed students in college prep, technical, or remedial classes.
E) tutorials for failing students and limited class sizes in high schools only.
Q2) Which of the following is true of sales taxes?
A) Lower income families are more affected by increases.
B) They are considered progressive when food items are excluded.
C) Sales taxes are returned to the counties in which they were collected
D) They are unimportant to most Texans.
E) They are fair for all Texans.
Q3) Businesses do not pay personal income taxes.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In 2010, nearly one-fifth of Texas children had no health insurance.
A)True
B)False
Page 15
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